CULTURE

Premiere of Ralph Siegel's musical "Johnny Blue" for Eurovision 2015

For one of the most prolific and successful Eurovision Song Contest composers, a dream came finally true: Ralph Siegel's musical Johnny Blue was premiered in the Czech city of Brno this week, and of course it cites some of his most famous hits and well-loved Eurovision entries!

Thirteen minutes of standing ovations, a lot of tears, and a dream-come-true - this is just a small glimpse of the reactions after the musical Johnny Blue was first performed in the Městské divadlo in Brno, the second biggest city in the Czech Republic.

Johnny Blue was the German entry in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, originally performed by Lena Valaitis, coming second on the big night. In the musical of the same name, Johnny Blue is again a blind musician, this time entering a deal with devil Satana, who promises him to give him back his eyesight in exchange for his soul.

Many other Eurovision Song Contest hits penned by Ralph Siegel, with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger, are featured: The musical opens with Theater (originally performed by Katja Ebstein in 1980), it includes the first German Eurovision Song Contest winner, Nicole's Ein Bisschen Frieden, and the cheerful Wir geben ne Party, originally performed by MeKaDo in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.

One of the band members, Dorkas Kiefer, was present at the premiere, along with one of Ralph Siegel's most recent discoveries, Valentina Monetta, who had represented San Marino in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Eurovision Song Contests. Her song Maybe, which brought San Marino to the Grand Final for the first time in Eurovision history, is also featured in the musical.

This year Ralph Siegel will again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, representing San Marino as a composer for the fourth time in a row. His song Chain of Lights will be performed by Anita Simoncini & Michele Perniola - you can find out more about the entry on the official artist profile.